Personal Statement Topic- Input Please

LRT

I am writing about my experience as the child of immigrants. I want to write about my experience as a "translator" for my parents who had difficulty mastering English. Growing up I would translate, explain, and speak for them in situations where they couldn't do so for themselves. (For example: opening a bank account, disputing an incorrect bill, etc.) I want to show how my parents' inability to communicate/lack of formal schooling has taught me about the value of understanding the world around you and acquiring an education. So basically, an essay how this experience has influenced my decision to attend law school. What do you guys think?

that is crazy! i was seriously going to write a very similar ps... well im sure ours will turn out differently due to different life experiences, but i wrote a term paper all about limited english speaking parents..

Good job. I like your draft. I can certainly relate to some of the encounters you mentioned.

There are a lot of good things to say about your PS and perhaps also a lot of potential (constructive) criticisms. However, I'll just mention a few.

I finished your PS still teetering on what it is that you equate with education. Yes, you say "I have found that education is best equated with an enlightened mind and a better understanding of one’s self." Is this compatible with your parents' notion of education as money and success? Which educational ideal do you most subscribe to? If it's the ideal of enlightenment, you have not convinced me of that yet.

You wrote: "There are many reasons that I want to study law, but all of these reasons stem from my belief that a legal education will help define the world for me in the same way that the English dictionary helped me to define the world to my parents."

Now that's interesting!! This association between that dictionary and your career ambitions may be something you want to write about in more detail. If you fear that this elaboration would be too long, do not hesitate to delete the more formulaic "..meet the challenges... explore the opportunities..." phrases.